After 30 years and many failed appeals, convicted rapist Benjamin LaGuer maintains innocence

Monday

Jul 15, 2013 at 4:42 PMJul 15, 2013 at 11:29 PM

By George Barnes, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Monday marked the 30th anniversary of the arrest of Benjamin LaGuer in a case that has been before the public eye constantly since he was charged with beating, raping and tying up his 59-year-old Leominster neighbor in her home.

Mr. LaGuer, arrested three days after the attack, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

The victim was repeatedly raped over an eight-hour period beginning the night of July 12, 1983. She suffered a broken jaw, broken rib, multiple injuries to the face and at one point had a plastic bag held over her head, choking her until she passed out. The victim survived and died at age 75 in 1999.

The case has been before the courts ever since.

It has also been before the public eye, partly because Mr. LaGuer, 50, enlisted support or gained interest from a veritable who's who in academia, the media and the legal community.

The wide net cast by Mr. LaGuer's case has even involved Gov. Deval L. Patrick in the years preceding his run for office. In 1998 and 2000, Mr. Patrick sent letters in support of Mr. LaGuer's efforts to win parole. He also sent money to help out with the cost of DNA testing.

The letters became an issue in the 2006 governor's race between Mr. Patrick and former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella, who, as a police officer, was one of the first three officers responding to the scene, said when he learned of Mr. Patrick's support he tried to warn him of the complexity of the issue.

"It was sort of, 'Watch out what you are getting yourself into,' " Mr. Mazzarella said.

Mr. Mazzarella later met with the governor and was satisfied with what he was told. The governor has since said that he is no longer a supporter of Mr. LaGuer and said he would not grant Mr. LaGuer clemency. Still, Mr. LaGuer included the governor as one of his 27 potential witnesses in the latest bid for a new trial, which was rejected in February 2012. Mr. Patrick was not called to the stand during the appeal.

Among those listed on Mr. LaGuer's website as members of his committee are former WGBH television and radio host Christopher Lydon, MIT professor of linguistics and philosophy Noam Chomsky and Minister Don Mohammad.

He has also communicated with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, author William Styron, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates and Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree.

As recently as 2010, retired Superior Court Judge Isaac Borenstein, who became part of the defense team, indicated he would offer Mr. LaGuer a job if he were released.

Mr. LaGuer's support waned after DNA testing seemed to link him to the case, but he still has many supporters.

Since his conviction, Mr. LaGuer has maintained his innocence and continues to believe that the courts will eventually set him free.

"I am of absolute faith that I will be vindicated by the court," he said in a email last week from the North Central Correctional Institution in Gardner.

Mr. LaGuer began appeals almost immediately after his conviction. All his efforts to date have been rejected, but three decades later, Mr. LaGuer continues to fight his conviction. He has been rejected for a new trial nine times and has repeatedly been turned down for parole, mainly because he refuses to show remorse for the crime, which he maintains he did not do.

To date, Mr. LaGuer has been the only credible suspect in the case, according to authorities.

Mr. LaGuer said he could feel no greater pain over what happened to the victim, but says her identification of him was wrong. In his last effort at a new trial he hoped to offer testimony from a former Fitchburg social worker that the victim was on medications when she made the identification

On Feb. 28, 2012, in a 17-page ruling, Worcester Superior Court Judge Richard T. Tucker found that Mr. LaGuer demonstrated a pattern of behavior designed to perpetrate fraud on he court. He rejected Mr. LaGuer's appeal, which was based on the contention that post-conviction DNA testing that connected him to the case was flawed and that newly discovered evidence cast doubt on the validity of his conviction.

The judge found no proof was presented to support Mr. LaGuer's contention about the DNA testing, which was done at his request in 2002. The judge also ruled that the newly discovered evidence involving the social worker was not sufficiently strong for a new trial to be ordered.

Mr. LaGuer's efforts continue. He is seeking to appeal Judge Tucker's ruling and is keeping the case before the public through a website, www.benlaguer.org. The website contains volumes of information on his case, including news articles, court docket entries and background on the case. Another website is www.freebennow.org .

Mr. LaGuer is filing a new appeal, which will be based on what he says is the flawed nature of the DNA evidence used against him and the short time — two days — Judge Tucker allowed for him to call 27 witnesses he listed for the last effort to win a new trial.

Mr. Mazzarella said it may be time for Mr. LaGuer to give up the fight.

"It's been a long time," he said. "He would have been better off admitting his guilt, getting some help and moving somewhere and settle down."

Mr. Mazzarella said he believes that over the past 30 years Mr. LaGuer has convinced himself he is innocent.

The case was originally prosecuted by District Attorney John J. Conte, now retired, and now is in the hands of Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. Mr. Early declined to comment on the case because it is ongoing. In the latest attempt by Mr. LaGuer to win a new trial, his office argued that possibility of tainted DNA evidence was not applicable because it had not been entered in evidence and even if it was, Mr. LaGuer was the only person identified.in the testing. He also discounted evidence from a social worker, arguing that the defendant had not shown the evidence newly discovered, and could not have been discovered through a concerted effort by the defendant in 1983.

The possibility that Mr. LaGuer will win his freedom is still remote, but he has post-incarceration plans.

He said he grew up in a church that believes in missionary work and social justice. He said he has three sisters working in human services and a brother involved in similar work. He said he also did similar work before going to jail.

What he would like to do if he is exonerated is work for social justice, but only after taking some time off.

"I intend to sit under a tree for six months and read a list of 100 books I have collected," he said. "Then I will pick up and continue my work in social justice."

Contact George Barnes at gbarnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG